Thursday, January 17, 2008

Chargers have history on their side

If history has anything to do with it, the Chargers will beat the New England Patriots on Sunday to advance to the Super Bowl.

The only other time the teams met for a championship, the Chargers wiped out the Boston Patriots, 51-10, for the 1963 American Football League championship.

Of course, back then the game was played in San Diego, people waited in line for three hours at the Lafayette Hotel to buy tickets and it wasn’t supposed to be the coldest day of the year … as it may be Sunday in Foxboro, Mass. with the wind chill factor near zero degrees.

Looking back, the Chargers jumped out to a 31-10 lead they never relinquished in that 1963 championship game … the only time the Chargers have ever won a league title.

Keith Lincoln was the star for San Diego, rushing for 206 yards and 1 touchdown in 13 attempts, catching 7 passes for 123 yards and 1 TD … and even completing a 20-yard pass on his only attempt.

Now one must wonder if Philip Rivers, LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates can approach these numbers against the current undefeated Patriots … and there’s even the question if any/all of them will play due to injuries.

With or without their top dogs, the Chargers will try not to become the 18th straight team to fail to meet the winning challenge against New England this season.